By Xinhua,
Dhaka : Bangladesh’s former foreign minister and business tycoon Morshed Khan was sentenced to 13 years in jail on charge of accumulating wealth illegally Monday.
A special anti-graft court pronounced the judgment against Khan who is now outside the country. Judge Sirajul Islam also fined him to pay 1 million taka (14,300 U.S. dollars) or serve one year more in prison in default.
Moreover, the court in the high-security parliament building complex ordered confiscation of his ill-gotten property worth over 8.2 million taka (about 117,143 U.S. dollars).
The court order says the sentences will come into effect after his arrest or surrender to the court.
Present caretaker government led by former central bank governor Fakhruddin Ahmed after coming to power in January last year launched campaign to crack down on corrupt politicians including the country’s two former prime ministers Khaleda Zia andSheikh Hasina to clean politics.
Hasina who is now in the U.S. for treatment of her ears and eyes was paroled for two months on June 11. Khaleda is still in a makeshift jail in parliament building complex.
Morshed Khan was foreign minister from 2001 to 2006 when Khaleda Zia was prime minister.